A Day at the Races: Episode III

A Day at the Races Part III: Neighbors Helping Neighbors

“A Day at the Races Part III”, Howard Community Healthcare Foundation’s annual hospital bed races, will take place on Saturday, August 14, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Haehl Creek Dr.  Local organizations and businesses have already begun to form teams and excitement has begun to build.  Each team will consist of five people and each race will pair two teams at a time on the Haehl Creek Drive track.

This is the third year for this event with the previous two years raising in

excess of $40,000.  Prior to the event each team is in the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Contest” to see who can raise the most money by collecting individual donations and sponsorships. A unique twist this year is that half of each team’s total will go toward the construction of the new Health & Wellness Center at the Frank R. Howard Foundation’s Medical Campus, while the other half goes to the team’s local non-profit charity-of-their-choice.

“Many local non-profits are in need of money during these challenging economic times,” explains Ian Fitzpatrick of the Howard Foundation, “and because they might not be able to host their own fundraising event, we thought it would be a good idea to work together with local non-profits in order to leverage our collective ability to raise funds.  We hope the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Contest” will prove to be an effective way for local non-profits to plug into an existing event while showcasing themselves at the races on August 14^th.  Howard Foundation is making the event FREE to attend and is planning to make the event a perfect evening for families.  We hope that you will come join us and cheer your favorite team on to victory!”

Firing up both spectators and team participants will be live music by Samba Jamba.  With a focus on Latin music and with dynamic vocals in English, Portuguese and Spanish, the band has been performing all over Mendocino County for over four years playing an eclectic mix of arrangements including well-known Latin jazz, and Brazilian classics made famous by Sergio Mendes & Brazil ‘66 and Antonio Jobim. Get ready to heat up the track with this spicy group of local musicians!

Willits Lion’s club will be providing food and drinks for a nominal charge.  A dunk tank, face painting, raffles and other games will be available for all to enjoy.

For more information please call Ian Fitzpatrick at 459-3047 or email at ian@howardfoundation.org.